The Rural Voice, 1993-11, Page 34Rural Living
Restoring the classic farm house: part 2 -the inside
John Rutledge is an architect specializing in working with older
buildings. His work has appeared in Century Home and other
publications dealing with home renovation and restoration.
Last month the Goderich architect talked about how to preserve
the original integrity of the outside of your house. This month
he talks about the inside of your house.
Just as there was a hierarchy of
importance in size and materials used
on the exterior of period houses, so
there was a hierarchy on the inside of
the houses built in days of old, John
Rutledge says.
The best, and most elaborate
materials, were used in the rooms
that were the most public. Thus,
when guests entered by the more
ornate front door of the house, they
entered the front hall and the living
room, dining room or parlour. The
woodwork in this part of the house
would be the most detailed in the
house. People weren't apt to be
invited into the kitchen so the
woodwork there would often be
simpler. Since upstairs was also
private it would also have a plainer
finish. If you're renovating, keeping
your kitchen plainer will keep it in
touch with the period in which your
house was built.
If you're building an addition on
the back of a period house, you can
use simpler, smaller woodworking
and not worry about matching the
ornate decorations of the living room
and dining room, Rutledge says. He
recommends you also study the floor
plan of your house and see how it
works, then tie it in to the addition.
Other tips:
Windows:
A lack of knowledge of the past often
leads people to put replacement
windows in their house that are older
in style than what would have been
on when the house was built. Very
few farm homes in this part of the
province would have the small six -
pane or nine -pane windows that we
generally think of as authentically
old, Rutledge says. By the time most
houses in this region were built
technology had advanced enough to
30 THE RURAL VOICE
allow large panes of glass to be
poured. Grateful home builders put in
first the windows that would have
two panes top and bottom and later
windows that would have a single
pane of glass on the top half of the
window and another on the bottom.
If you are replacing these windows
you're actually not being true to the
house to go back to nine -over -nine or
six -over -six
window pane
styles.
Generally the
double -hung
window style of
the past will
work best in
making a house
look authentic
to its period, he
says, because
nearly all
windows were
proportion to allow more light but
still keep the same style.
Skylights can work in an older
home, he says, but keep them small.
"Skylights don't need to be large to
bring in good light. A two -foot by
two -foot skylight will let in a lot of
light."
If you have visions of a sliding
patio door, he suggests altematives
that will stay in the period of the
house yet serve the same purpose. A
door flanked by windows will allow
as much light. You can also look at
French doors.
"Consistency of window style,
proportion and orientation is so
important," he says.
To refinish, or not refinish:
Rutledge
says he tends to
discourage
stripping
woodwork if it
has been
painted. "A
painted interior
was likely
always
painted," he
says. When
people strip
down painted
John Rutledge: tips on restoring a classic
farm house.
that style when the original house
was built.
The one place where the six -over -
six or nine -over -nine windows may
look right is in an addition at the
back of the house where the original
house might have had the less-
expensive smaller paned windows.
If you're building an addition, the
windows in the addition should be
smaller than the windows in the main
part of the house but in the same
proportions. The window proportions
should be set by the size of the house
itself. If a house is twice as high as it
is wide, then the two -to -one
proportions should be reflected in the
windows.
If you want more light than this
tall, narrow window will give, don't
go to a wider window, Rutledge
advises. Instead, look at grouping
two or more windows of the same
woodwork they're often disappointed
because the quality of wood
underneath may not be as good as
they expect, he says. Kitchens, which
were work areas and not public areas,
often had painted woodwork.
If the woodwork has never been
painted, however, he recommends
stripping it down and putting on a
new finish.
Floors:
If floors are hardwood, by all
means go ahead and strip the wood,
Rutledge says. Hardwood doesn't
have to be restricted just to the living
room and dining room, either. Today
there are finishes that will stand up to
the hard use of even kitchens and
bathrooms.
If the floors are not hardwood,
Rutledge doesn't recommend
stripping them "unless you like to
live with imperfections". If you strip